Bulgarian Socialists Hope for Expert Cabinet with Broad Support

Bulgarian Socialist Party leader Sergey Stanishev (L) and PM hopeful Plamen Oresharski (R). Photo by BGNES

The Bulgarian Socialist Party has reiterated that it will not seek a political coalition, but rather a broadly supported expert cabinet in the wake of Sunday's snap general elections in Bulgaria.

At a press event Tuesday, the Socialists, who came out second at the vote, stated that their ambition is for Bulgaria's next cabinet to be formed on their parliamentary mandate.

"Our party will seek the support of other parliamentary parties - the Movement for Rights and Freedoms and Ataka - but also we will look for support from parties and civic movements that remained outside parliament," stated socialist leader Sergey Stanishev.

According to Stanishev, although the elections were marred by what he described as rampant violations, they were all in all fair and any talk of annulment can only destabilize the country at a time it needs it the least.

The Bulgarian Constitution has it that the President must grant the first mandate for cabinet formation to the largest parliamentary group, which this time over is again that of former ruling GERB party.

Yet with 30.5% of the vote, GERB are far from getting parliamentary majority, and have moreover found themselves in isolation, with all other three parliamentary parties having committed to not supporting a GERB-led government.

"What Bulgaria needs now is a cleansing from this disease that poisoned the entire atmosphere and led to a corrosion of statehood," commented Stanishev Tuesday.

The socialist leader has vowed to stay out of cabinet, with the party's PM candidate being Plamen Oresharski, a technocrat and former Minister of Finance.

According to official preliminary results from the vote as of Tuesday, the Socialists together with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms might turn out to have exactly a half of Bulgaria's 240 MPs, with the other half going to GERB and nationalists Ataka.

Tuesday Movement leader Lyutvi Mestan stated that under no circumstances would his party coalesce with Ataka, citing deep divergence of basic values between the two parties.

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